


Mistaken Phobias

by nweeks3



Series: My Complete Pitch Perfect Story - Part 5 [5]
Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2020-07-09 05:57:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19882753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nweeks3/pseuds/nweeks3
Summary: CR & Denise take Rachel on her first ever camping trip. Meanwhile, worries about autism shine light on an old friend of Emily's from high school.Set in August 2024.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Originally this was going to be called "Shark Phobia", but then I was suggested a title that I feel favors both the main plot and the side plot.

One Tuesday night in Beca, Chloe, and Amy's apartment, Chloe and CR were sitting on the couch watching TV.

"I think it's amazing you and Denise finally decided to take Rachel camping." Chloe said.

"Yeah. We found this beautiful place up in the Adirondacks last month, and we were just waiting for the right moment to go." CR explained.

"Well, I think she'll be very excited to go on her very first camping trip." Chloe said.

"Just as long as nothing goes wrong." CR said as someone knocked on the door.

"Just don't say that in front of Rachel. Don't want to jinx it." Chloe said as she went to answer the door.

"Hey, Emily. Come on in." Chloe said as she let her in.

"Hey, Chloe. I'm sorry to come by at this hour, but I've been rather worried." Emily said.

"About what?" Chloe asked.

"Benji and I got a call from Russell's pediatrician earlier today. He wants Russell to get a vaccination." Emily said.

"So...what's the problem?" Chloe asked.

"I'm worried that if our son gets a vaccination, it could lead to him having autism." Emily said.

"Girl, where'd you get a crazy idea like that?" CR asked.

"I read about it once." Emily said, nervously.

"Well, I'm not a doctor, so I can't really vouch for you. But it sounds like this is something you and Benji should talk to Russell's pediatrician about." Chloe suggested.

"We plan to. Tomorrow morning, Benji's going to be booking an appointment for next week so we can both be there and hope for the best." Emily said.

"Well, I wouldn't freak out too much about it." CR said.

"I know. It's just...I had a friend in high school who has autism. Most days he had difficulties fitting in, and other days he felt so alone, like hardly anyone would sit with him at lunch. I was one of the very few that would." Emily explained.

"Aww, I'm so sorry. No one should ever feel alone." Chloe said, sympathetically.

"Exactly! I don't want Russell to be in that same situation...or worse." Emily said, worried.

"This old friend of yours...do you remember his name?" Chloe asked, to which Emily nodded.

"Garrett Barnes." Emily said.

"Garrett Barnes? Did he go to Barden with you?" Chloe asked.

"No; We both applied to go there, but he didn't get in." Emily said as Beca and Amy came in the door.

"Hey, guys." Beca said, carrying a bag of leftovers.

"What's going on here? Are we interrupting something?" Amy asked, curious.

"No. Emily was just telling us about some friend of hers from high school." Chloe recapped.

"Yeah. He's had some struggles throughout his life." Emily recapped.

"Do you think he still remembers you?" CR asked.

"I don't know. It's been so long." Emily said.

"Well, I would try calling him to see if he has the same phone number, or perhaps seeing if he's on Facebook." Beca suggested.

"I've thought of doing that so many times. There's just one concern stopping me." Emily said.

"What's that?" Amy asked.

"What if I make Garrett cry again?" Emily feared.

"What do you mean?" Chloe asked.

"Senior year, he asked me to prom...and I told him 'no' because I had a boyfriend at the time. He was so sad, he cried for the rest of the school day." Emily said, sobbing on Beca's shoulder.

"Emily...that was ten years ago. Maybe he found himself a girlfriend since then." Beca said, hoping to calm Emily down.

"I sure hope so." Emily said, wiping her tears as CR's phone rang.

"Hey, babe." CR said, answering.

"Are you coming back anytime soon? I need to get to work and I can't leave Rachel home alone." Denise asked.

"I'll be back as soon as I can." CR said.

"Don't be too long. I'll see you back at home." Denise said.

"Later." CR said, hanging up.

"Everything okay?" Amy asked.

"I have to hurry home before Denise is late for her shift. But listen; don't worry too much about all of this. Just call us if you need us, okay? Later, guys." CR said as she left the apartment.

"I guess I should get going too. I need to give Russell a bath if Benji hasn't done so already." Emily said.

"Okay. Listen, if you try to make amends with Garrett, we'll hope for the best." Chloe said.

"Thanks, guys. I'll let you know what happens either way." Emily said.

"Later." Beca said as Emily left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clarify, the autism sideplot is supposed to based on an ongoing struggle in my life.


	2. Chapter 2

Three days later, CR, Denise, and Rachel were packing for their camping trip.

"How fun will this be?! A whole weekend in the Adirondacks. Just the three of us." CR said.

"My first ever camping trip. I'm so excited." Rachel said, happily.

"Let's go over everything before we hit the road." Denise said as she went outside to open the trunk of CR's car.

"Okay, we've got the tents, life jackets, swimsuits, picnic baskets, lawn chairs...I guess that's everything." CR said.

"What about stuff for s'mores as well as some firewood." Denise said.

"Thanks for reminding me. I'll go get that stuff." CR said as she grabbed what was left to pack.

While she was gone, Denise reached into her car and pulled out an outdoor DVD projector she recently bought, along with a projection screen and placed it in the trunk of CR's car.

When she came back to place the s'mores ingredients and firewood in the car, she noticed the projector and screen in the trunk.

"Uh, since when do we own an outdoor DVD projector?" CR asked.

"I bought it last night in case we wanted to watch a movie tonight." Denise said.

"Well, if we're going to use it, I would go get some good movies and a power strip." CR said.

"Way ahead of you. I'm going to get those right now." Denise said as she went back inside.

She looked through their library of movies to find two good ones to watch. After placing the DVD's in her tote bag, she went to look for a power strip and placed that in her tote bag as well before returning to the car.

"You all set?" CR asked.

"Yep. You want to drive?" Denise asked as she offered CR the car keys.

"Sounds good to me. Let's hit the road!" CR said as she accepted the keys and they both got in the front seat of the car.

"Adirondacks, here we come!" Denise said as CR started the car and the family drove off.

* * *

Meanwhile, Emily was sitting at her computer logged onto her Facebook profile when she remembered what the other Bellas said to her earlier that week. She typed Garrett's name in the search box and found a match. Despite how nervous she was, she went ahead and sent him a friend request.

While she waited for a possible response...

"Honey, can you help me find Russell's sippy cup?" Benji asked.

"Be right there." Emily said as she set her computer down on the coffee table to help Benji in the kitchen.

When she came back to her computer, much to her surprise, she got a response from Garrett.

Garrett typed "Hey there. Long time, no see."

Emily replied "I know, I haven't seen you in forever."

Garrett replied "Same. So, how's life?"

Emily replied "Not too bad. I'm married now with a one and a half year old son and I currently live in Hartford."

Garrett replied "Really? You know, my wife and I recently found an apartment in Hartford."

Emily replied "You're married now? I'm so happy for you."

Garrett replied "Yeah. We've been together for a few years now."

Emily replied "That's so cool. How's about we catch up sometime. Would you and your wife be up for a double date with me and my husband?"

Garrett replied "Definitely. How's tomorrow night?"

Emily replied "Just tell me your address and we'll pick you up tomorrow at about 5pm."

Garrett replied "Great. Looking forward to it. See you then."

Just then, Garrett typed the address of his apartment in the chat window and Emily put the address in her phone.

* * *

Later that afternoon, CR, Denise, and Rachel made it to the campground.

"And we have arrived!" CR said as she parked the car.

She opened the trunk and she and Denise unloaded the two tents.

"Why do we have two tents?" Rachel asked.

"One for you and one for us." CR said.

"So what we'll do first is put up the tents. Then we'll come back for the rest of the stuff." Denise said.

As they carried both tents to the campsite, Rachel was unsure how to assemble hers, so CR had to help her. Once Rachel's tent was put up, then CR went over to help Denise put their tent up. After the tents were assembled, the family went back to the car to unload the rest of the stuff they brought along. They agreed that they'd watch a movie on their new projector after dinner. They assembled the new projector and found a place to plug it in before having some sandwiches from their picnic basket.

* * *

When it was nearing 8pm that evening...

"Alright, it's finally dark enough so we can pop in a movie." CR said.

"Okay. So I brought Frozen and The Lion King." Denise said.

"I think she'll like The Lion King." CR said.

"Yeah. Can we? My classmates have all told me positive things about that movie." Rachel said.

"Well, okay; let's see if anything they said is true." Denise said as she put the DVD into the projector.

The family sat in the lawn chairs around the campfire and faced the projection screen so they could enjoy the movie. After the movie, Denise put the projector and screen away and put out the campfire before the family headed into their tents for the night.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, CR came into Rachel's tent to wake her up for the day.

"Morning, Rachel. We've got a whole day full of fun planned today." CR said.

"What are we doing today?" Rachel asked.

"Well, after we have some breakfast, I figured we could fit some swimming time in." CR said.

"Yay!" Rachel said as she quickly got out of her tent.

Outside, Denise used a frying pan to cook eggs over the fire when CR and Rachel joined her.

"Morning, Rachel. You in the mood for eggs?" Denise asked.

"You betcha!" Rachel said.

"Glad you are, because they are ready." Denise said, getting out paper plates and plastic forks so she can serve the eggs.

Once all the eggs were served, they each sat down at the picnic table to eat their breakfast.

"Ma, these eggs are delicious." Rachel said, approving.

"Glad you like them. Especially since this was the first time I cooked them over a fire." Denise said.

"Well, regardless, you've down well, babe." CR said, also approving.

"Thank you." Denise said.

"So, are we really going swimming today?" Rachel asked.

"Yep. We'll go in the water this afternoon." Denise confirmed.

"Yay!" Rachel said, excited.

* * *

A few hours later, the family put their swimsuits and life jackets on before heading for the lake.

"Mom, why do we have to wear life jackets?" Rachel asked.

"This water can be rather deep. So without a life jacket, you could sink underwater." CR explained before the family jumped into the lake.

While the family was enjoying themselves in the lake, a shark's fin could be seen in the distance.

"What kind of fish live in this lake?" Rachel asked, curious.

"Well, aside from all the trout, there's this big one called a muskie." CR said.

"How big is it?" Rachel asked.

"It's so big and heavy, it'd take more than one set of hands to grab." Denise said.

"What got you so interested in fish?" CR asked.

"Remember when I went on that field trip to the aquarium with my class last spring?" Rachel asked.

"Oh, yeah." Denise said before CR saw the shark's fin in the distance and thought she was crazy.

"Um, am I seeing things? There's no way there could possibly be a shark in this lake." CR thought.

"Shark? What shark?" Rachel asked, confused as CR turned her daughter's head.

When Rachel saw the shark's fin, she screamed in horror and then swam over to CR.

"Whoa, Rachel...calm down; there's no way that could be a real shark." CR assured Rachel.

"Are you sure?" Rachel asked, worried.

"Positive. This is a small lake; there's no way any real sharks could be around here." CR said, trying to comfort Rachel.

"Then how do you explain that shark fin?" Rachel asked.

"It's probably just a prank." CR thought.

Whoever was wearing the fin noticed the family wasn't trying to swim to safety. It meant that CR and Denise were too smart to fall for such a prank. So the prankster just swam away in defeat.

"Yeah, you better get out of here if you know what's good for you!" CR yelled as soon the prankster continued to swim away.

"Phew, glad that's over." Rachel said, feeling a sigh of relief.

"Agreed. Will you be okay, Rachel?" Denise asked, concerned.

"Yeah. I will be...at some point." Rachel said, breathing heavily.

"How about we head back to shore, take a moment for you to calm down, and then we can get back to swimming." Denise suggested.

"Okay." Rachel said as the family swam back to their campsite.

It took Rachel about a half hour to calm down from the prank before she was okay to get back in the lake. Luckily, when the family got back to swimming, there were no more shark pranks. This meant they could get back to their relaxing weekend exactly as planned.


	4. Chapter 4

Back in Hartford, later that evening at about 5pm, Emily and Benji arrived outside Garrett's apartment.

"Are you sure it was a good idea to have Aubrey and Chad babysit Russell?" Benji asked as they both got out of the car.

"They didn't seem to mind. Besides, Aubrey told me herself that Finn loves company." Emily recapped as she knocked on the door of Garrett's apartment.

"Emily!" Garrett exclaimed, happy to see her.

"Garrett!" Emily exclaimed, happy to see him before the two shared a hug.

"I've missed you so much." Garrett said.

"You too." Emily said before they broke away from their hug.

"Come on in." Garrett said as the two did so.

"Garrett, I'd like you to meet my husband, Benji." Emily said.

"Nice to meet you." Garrett said, prompting a handshake.

"You too." Benji said, accepting the handshake as a tall, blonde, pregnant woman came into the living room.

"I take it, she's your..." Emily started.

"Ah, yes. Emily, Benji, this is my wife, Shannon. Shannon, this is my best friend from high school, Emily, and her husband, Benji." Garrett said, introducing them.

"Nice to meet you." Shannon said, prompting a handshake.

"You too, Shannon." Emily said, accepting the handshake.

"So, you guys ready to go?" Garrett asked.

"Yep. Just tell us where we're going since I'm driving." Emily said as she lead Benji, Garrett, and Shannon to the car while Shannon locked the door behind them. Benji got in the passenger seat while Garrett opened the backseat door and motioned for Shannon to get in first. They drove to the local TGI Fridays which was not far from Garrett and Shannon's apartment.

* * *

At the restaurant, not long after the four placed their orders...

"So, Garrett...how did you meet Shannon?" Emily asked.

"Remember when we applied to Barden, but I didn't get in?" Garrett asked.

"Mm-hmm." Emily said.

"Well, it turns out I got into NYU instead. And Shannon and I met during our sophomore year during one of our classes we had together." Garrett said.

"We were sitting next to each other this one day and he had so much to talk about." Shannon said.

"In fact, we hit it off so much, we sat next to each other in that same class every day." Garrett added.

"So after a week's worth of conversation, he finally got the courage to ask me out." Shannon said.

"I remember being so nervous that day, I thought I would cry." Garrett said.

"I understand. And I'm really sorry I made you cry during our senior year." Emily said.

"And think of it this way, Garrett; you may have been nervous when you asked Shannon out, but I think that was a very brave thing you did. And I'm glad it all worked out for you two." Benji added.

"I was even more nervous on the day I proposed to her." Garrett said.

"We both graduated the same year and he proposed to me on the day of my graduation party." Shannon said.

"No way! That's awesome." Emily said.

"Thanks. We got married September 4th, 2021, and we had our honeymoon at one of Shannon's favorite places." Garrett said.

"Which is?" Benji asked.

"Disney World." Shannon said.

"Boy, I'd love to take our son there sometime when he's old enough to fly on a plane." Benji said.

"Please tell me you at least got to meet Mickey and Minnie Mouse while you were there." Emily said.

"Of course. Those pictures are ones I'll never delete from my phone." Shannon said as she pulled out her phone to show Emily and Benji the pics.

The pics she showed Emily and Benji were Shannon posing with Minnie and Garrett posing with Mickey both at Red Carpet Dreams located at Hollywood Studios.

"Did you ever post these on Facebook?" Emily asked looking through the pics.

"Yep. You should friend me sometime. They're all on my profile." Shannon said.

"Well, I have my phone with me, so I'll go ahead and do that right now." Emily said as she pulled out her phone and opened her Facebook app.

She typed Shannon's name in the search box and sent her the friend request. Shannon got the notification instantly and accepted the friend request.

"Nice. Now we're officially Facebook friends." Shannon said.

"Yep. And when Benji and I get home, we need to decide when Russell will be old enough to fly so we can plan our trip to Disney World." Emily said.

"Just make sure you remind me." Benji said.

"I take it Russell is your..." Garrett said.

"Yep. He's our son." Emily said.

"You should've brought him along." Shannon said.

"We thought of that, but at the same time we thought it should be a nice relaxing dinner for just the four of us." Benji said.

"But speaking of kids, Shannon, I saw that you were pregnant. How far along are you?" Emily asked.

"Seven months." Shannon said.

"When are guys due?" Benji asked.

"November 6th." Shannon said.

"Well, congratulations. Is it a boy or girl?" Emily asked.

"It's a girl." Garrett said.

"We had a name picked out since one month after the sonogram test." Shannon said.

"Well, what's her name?" Benji asked.

"We're naming her Lucy. Garrett thought of the name." Shannon said.

"My grandmother's favorite show was 'I Love Lucy' back in the 50s, so that's how I came up with the name." Garrett explained.

"I can definitely see that." Emily said as everyone's food arrived.

Emily ordered chicken parmesan pasta, Benji ordered the fried shrimp, Garrett ordered a bacon cheeseburger and fries, while Shannon ordered a house salad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's worth noting there was some dialogue being considered for the restaurant scene before they placed their orders. But I took it out because it was only three lines long. But it points out that the restaurant they went to was exactly the same as the one where Garrett and Shannon went to on their first date.


	5. Chapter 5

Back at the campground at about 8pm, CR, Denise, and Rachel were sitting around the campfire eating s'mores.

"How are you enjoying your s'more, Rachel?" Denise asked.

"Delicious." Rachel said.

"Glad you like them. Does this make up for what happened earlier today?" Denise asked.

"Yeah. I keep looking at that lake wondering if it'll ever be safe for me to swim again." Rachel said, slightly worried.

"Of course it will. Like I said before, there's no way that could've been a real shark." CR assured Rachel.

"How do you know for sure?" Rachel asked.

"Because she's right." A mystery woman wearing a wetsuit said.

"Um, can we help you?" CR asked.

"You probably don't remember me. But I used to be a Bella." The mystery woman said.

"There's one way to know if we do..." Denise said.

"Yeah. Could you remove your goggles and the hood of your wetsuit, please?" CR asked as the mystery woman did so.

The mystery woman turned out to be none other then...

"Mary Elise?" CR & Denise asked.

"That's right. I was the one wearing the shark fin." Mary Elise confessed as she showed the family the shark fin she attached to her wetsuit.

"See, Rachel; I told you there were no real sharks out there." CR said.

"I'm only confessing what I did, because I feel awful about scaring your daughter like that." Mary Elise said.

"Then why did you do it?" Denise asked.

"Because I was hired to do so." Mary Elise explained.

"By who?" CR asked.

"Remember Kori? The other girl that Aubrey kicked out of the Bellas during freshman year?" Mary Elise asked.

"Yeah. But how could she have hired you? Last I remember, she was in jail for robbing a bank and trying to frame Aubrey for it." CR remembered.

"She was. The judge gave her a five year prison sentence, as well as two years parole. Anyway, after her parole ended, she came to find me and told me she still wanted revenge for being kicked out the Bellas. She wanted me to help, but I didn't want to." Mary Elise explained.

"So, what made you give in?" Denise asked.

"She promised me $25,000!" Mary Elise said prompting shocked gasps from CR & Denise.

"WHAT?! Twenty-five grand just to scare our daughter?" CR asked.

"She didn't care what I did. She just wanted the revenge. But after I saw how frightened your daughter was from the shark attack, that was when I felt awful about what I did. I called Kori and explained everything only to find out she tried to bribe me with money she didn't even have to begin with." Mary Elise explained.

"So, she basically manipulated you?" Denise asked.

"Yeah. Pretty much." Mary Elise said.

"You don't need girls like that in your life. If I were you, I'd block her number from your phone." CR suggested.

"Already done." Mary Elise said, with confidence.

"Just out of curiosity, what were you going to do with the 25 grand if Kori had that money?" Denise asked.

"My mom has to have a kidney transplant and I was going to put the money towards her surgery." Mary Elise explained.

"Tell you what: We can help pay for your mom's transplant on one condition..." CR said motioning to Rachel.

Mary Elise nodded as she got down to Rachel's eye level.

"Rachel, I'm sorry I scared you. That's not who I want to be. I'm also sorry if I ruined your camping trip. I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me." Mary Elise said as she waited for a response from Rachel.

"What do you say, Rachel?" CR asked.

"Thank you." Rachel said as Mary Elise gave her a hug.

"I'm proud of you, girl. How about I give you my number and then we can keep in touch." CR offered as she took out a small piece of paper with a pencil and wrote down her phone number to give to Mary Elise.

"Thank you. I'll give you a call in a few days to let you know the details about the transplant." Mary Elise said putting the number in her phone.

"Great. We'll be in touch." CR said as Mary Elise left.

"Well, Rachel, you still scared?" Denise asked.

"Not as much now." Rachel said.

"Good. How about we skip the ghost story tonight and just go to sleep after we finish our s'mores." Denise suggested.

"I agree. Our daughter does not need two scares on the same day." CR said.

"In that case, see you in the morning." Denise said as they all went into their tents for the night after putting out the campfire.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning at about 9am, everything CR, Denise, and Rachel brought to the campsite was packed away in the car as the family prepared to head home.

"Well, Rachel, aside from what happened yesterday, was this a fun experience?" Denise asked.

"Yeah. I'd love to come back again sometime." Rachel said.

"Well, that can definitely be arranged. In fact, maybe we come here for one weekend every summer." CR suggested.

"I'd like that." Rachel said.

"Now come on; we've got a long five hour drive home." Denise said as the family got in the car and left the campsite.

* * *

Three days later, Emily and Benji were in the exam room of the doctor's office for Russell's vaccination waiting for the doctor to come in. Emily could be seen with a very nervous look on her face, but Benji tried to calm her down as the doctor walked in.

"Hello, there. I take it you guys are here for your son's vaccination." Dr. Howell said, greeting the family.

"That's right, Dr. Howell. Though, I do have one concern about this whole thing." Emily said.

"And that is?" Dr. Howell asked.

"I read online last week that vaccinations could lead to autism." Emily explained.

"Mrs. Applebaum, you do know that's just a rumor, right?" Dr. Howell said.

"A rumor?" Emily asked.

"Mm-hmm. Years ago, researchers confirmed that rumor to be totally false." Dr. Howell assured her.

"Oh, thank goodness." Emily said, feeling a sigh of relief.

"Not only that, but they also confirmed how important it is for all children to get vaccinations as well. Because they protect him and others he may come in contact with. It cannot spread if everyone is immune." Dr. Howell added.

"Thank you, Dr. Howell. My wife was freaking out about that." Benji said.

"Well, now that we got that squared away, shall we get started?" Dr. Howell asked.

"Just...one more thing." Emily said as she walked over to Russell. "You scared?" She asked as Russell nodded yes.

"Well, I figured you would be, so I brought with me...your favorite teddy bear." She said, pulling the stuffed animal out of her bag.

Russell smiled when he saw his favorite teddy bear and Emily handed it to him.

"Go on...give it a squeeze." Emily said as Russell did so as hard as he could. "Now, just keep hugging him and it'll be over before you know it."

Emily then motioned for Dr. Howell to give the vaccination. And it was over within seconds.

"There; all done." Dr. Howell said.

"See? It's all over now." Benji said as Russell stopped squeezing his teddy bear.

"Thank you so much, Dr. Howell." Emily said.

"My pleasure. I'll see you guys in a few months for his next checkup." Dr. Howell said.

Emily put the stuffed animal back in her bag before helping her son off the exam table.

"Come on, Russell. Let's go home." Emily said as she carried her son out of the exam room.

Before they left the doctor's office, Emily and Benji made sure to book the appointment for Russell's next check up. When that was done, the family headed back to the car. Emily started the car and the family headed home.

* * *

As they were driving...

"Well, Emily, you glad all the worries are over?" Benji asked.

"Yeah. I guess I was worried about the vaccination and autism because I saw how much Garrett struggled as a teenager." Emily said.

"Well, think of it this way: He may have struggled, but we all have things that are challenging for us." Benji assured her.

"True." Emily agreed.

"And not only that, but it seems like Garrett was able to overcome that and build a life for himself that makes him happy. At the core, he's just like us despite having autism." Benji added.

"That does make sense. In fact, I'm really happy for Garrett. He seems so much happier ever since he met Shannon." Emily said.

"Yeah. And I'm looking forward to when their baby girl is born." Benji said.

"Who knows; maybe Russell and Lucy could end up being playmates." Emily said.

"Now that's a good idea. We'll talk to Garrett and Shannon about that after their daughter is born." Benji said.

"Sounds like a plan." Emily said as she continued driving.

* * *

The next day, CR, Denise, and Rachel met up with Mary Elise in Albany (where she and her mother were currently residing). Before they made the trip up, CR withdrew the $25,000 she and Denise promised Mary Elise for her mother's transplant. Mary Elise and her mother rode with CR, Denise, and Rachel to the local hospital so the transplant could officially begin. Denise knew Rachel would be bored spending several hours in the waiting room, so she took Rachel to a local park while CR and Mary Elise waited anxiously for the results. Hours later, when the transplant was completed, CR and Mary Elise learned that the operation was a success.

TO BE CONTINUED in Destiny in Manhattan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it. I'd like to thank my dad for helping me think of the title of this story as well as a few of the lines of dialogue in this chapter and the first chapter. I'd also like to thank another friend of mine who is an actual psychologist for her contributions to this story as well. I'd also like to thank another friend of mine who happens to be a published book writer for his knowledge on fish in that one scene in Chapter 3. It is also worth noting that this story had a deleted chapter that was taken out for numerous reasons that I won't get into. Next story of mine is based on a prompt from a Twitter user. So, keep a heads up for that.


End file.
